How To Standout As An Animator

How To Standout As An Animator

Being a good animator is not enough anymore. There are four basic ways to standout as an animator in today’s day and age, especially on the web.

#1 MINDSET

This changes over time, but you there’s a saying, “You can’t live a positive life with a negative mind,” and I can’t agree more. Usually when people get frustrated with the their circumstances in life, it’s because they don’t want to change their attitudes towards it. The more you believe in the power of your own Self and mind, the more you become a captain of your destiny, not a slave to it.

#2 DRIVE

Will-power, passion and determination of Spirit will always trump pure/raw talent alone. Why? Because, in the long run, you will have worked harder and learned more than those who have it “easy”. Their challenge is usually to do something with what they have. I’ve failed a lot of things in the past, but my experiences have taught me to never give up. If you really want something, you will find a way.

Sharing your passion with others is also important, but learn to share it with the right people. Refining your intuition is what will help you discern here.

#3 NETWORKING

This was so overlooked during school days. This is so important in the industry and I wish they got us to practice this a bit more – the ability to talk and relate to people. I mean, luckily for me, I’m a Leo and don’t mind talking, but I still had/have my own fears, doubts and insecurities. But I’m training myself to get over it. Even talking to legends like LeSean Thomas on Facebook is a big thing, but we’re all human beings at the end of the day. If you want to get noticed, you got to first, be yourself, and second, be comfortable being yourself. If it were easy, everyone would be doing it.

#4 MENTORS

This, I think, is overlooked even more. Finding someone you admire, who’s ‘been there, done that’, is worth their weight in gold. I’ve managed to grab Mike L. Murphy of Successful Animator as my own mentor, but I can’t take all the credit for it (someone up there must be watching over me). But I would say that this has helped me gain clarity on A LOT of things – working smart, and not just harder (and I don’t think people should be afraid of hard work either – so many people look for the easy way out because of laziness). Mentorship was also a huge part of ancient societies, so I don’t know how or why that got lost over time. I see it making a comeback in the near future.

Now, these things may seem a little vague at first but, I assure you, let it sit for a while. In the future, I will be expanding on these “four elements” to give you even more insight into how this can help you in your pursuits.

And just remember, these are my opinions from my own experiences. Take what you can from this, learn, and adapt. Everyone will try to claim that they have the magic pill, but I believe in patience and Self-discipline. I am just sharing what wisdom I have. Hope it helps!